


Together We Fall

by west_haven



Category: The Last of Us
Genre: F/F, Left Behind spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-15
Updated: 2014-02-15
Packaged: 2018-01-12 11:09:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1185523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/west_haven/pseuds/west_haven
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set right after Ellie and Riley get bitten, here's a bit of fluff and angst between them. Spoilers for Left Behind!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Together We Fall

"How long do you think we have?"

Riley looked over at me, blood still splattered on her face. Some must have been on mine, as well; her hand drifted over and wiped at my cheek. It came back with a smear of deep red.

"I have no clue." She answered and gave a loud sigh that echoed in the empty mall. "I really wish I knew. Guess we should have paid attention during school, huh?"

I let out a small chuckle at that. But then my breath caught when I saw the terrible wound on my arm. The bite was covered in dirt and blood even though I tried to wipe most of it off. Looking at it again, my other hand came over it suddenly and scraped at it, as if that would make the infection go away.

Tears spilled from my eyes and I let out a cry when Riley gripped my arms and ripped them away from each other. "Ellie, stop. You have to stop!"

I pulled out of her grasp and then wrapped her in a fierce hug.

"This is not what I wanted for us. I wanted us to go on that trip and to read more stupid pun books together and stuff," I let out in a rush. Her arms tightened around me, almost too tight but I was not about to complain about that.

Her mouth was at my ear as she slowly responded. "Yeah, girl. I would have loved to see you surf, and laugh when you fell off the board."

My laughter bubbled out of me as I buried my face deeper into her shoulder. "You know I can't swim so that isn't funny."

"Aw, but then I can save you and give you CPR." She touched my cheek again and brushed a bit of hair behind my ear.

I lifted my head at that. Looking into her eyes, my grin began to grow. "What, like this? 'Ahh, oh no, save me, Riley! I'm droooowning~!' What would you do?"

Her grin matched mine as she gathered myself in her arms. I couldn't help but laugh as she began to drag me across the floor and towards one wall of the mall. "I'll save you!! I'll pull you ashore!!"

She knelt over me, dirty and battered but still with a smile. "Oh, it cannot be! She's not breathing!" She hesitated for a second and bit at her lip. But then she put her hand under my head and closed the distance between us.

My heart nearly beat out of my chest when our lips met. On instinct, my hand rose and held her face closer to mine. It was weird and new, kissing her like this but at the same time, it felt like home.

"Ah, it looks like she's coming around," Riley murmured, just barely pulling her mouth away from mine. "But my CPR is a bit rusty, I better make sure...."

I couldn't help myself, so I pursed my lips and blew a raspberry against hers. Riley sputtered and jumped off me, dropping my head against the floor. My laugh was cut short with the blow; I slowly sat up and rubbed the back of my head.

"Oh my god, Ellie, you are so terrible with the romantic stuff! Is that supposed to woo a girl?"

"Well, you know me. Can't take anything seriously." I stuck my tongue out at her.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. It'll be the death of m--" She stopped short. My eyes dropped down at my bite and then over to the matching one on her hand.

"I.... I didn't mean to say that."

I shook my head and gripped her hands. "It's...okay. It's okay," I repeated. My voice sounded strange, even to my ears.

"I'm so sorry. Ellie, I...." She huffed out a sigh and looked down at our hands. I tried to ignore the feel of her bite wound rubbing against my palm. I tried to pretend for a moment that nothing was wrong.

"This is a lousy first date, huh?" I forced a smile.

Riley's lips twitched into a grin. "And I didn't even get to second base."

I laughed with her but then stopped. "Wait, what does that mean?"

"I'm... actually not sure. I know at the very least it means we shouldn't have gotten attacked by infected while making out."

"Wh--wha--we weren't making out!" I could feel my cheeks coloring. "One kiss does not make a--a make out!"

"Alright, whatever you say, girl." She leaned in and rested her forehead against mine. I could feel her warm skin against mine and it worried me. Soon, we were going to lose ourselves to the infection. The thought made my eyes fill with tears and I tried so hard to not let them fall.

I took a deep breath and pulled my hands from hers. "We... we should get going. Somewhere. For the night, I guess." My legs felt sore as I stood up and began to quickly walk away.

"Hey, wait up!" Riley's footsteps were so loud in this quiet place as she caught up to me.

We walked together for a few paces before she put her hand in mine without a word.

Between our hands, her bite was a reminder that our time together was limited. So let's make it count.

**Author's Note:**

> So who else is broken because of these two?


End file.
